


Heart is where the home is

by isseitaka



Category: 19天 - Old先 | 19 Days - Old Xian
Genre: Honestly tired I will edit this later, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:20:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27944444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/isseitaka/pseuds/isseitaka
Summary: Distance makes the heart grow fonder.
Relationships: He Tian/Mo Guanshan (19 Days)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 134





	Heart is where the home is

Seconds after waking up in the middle of the night, Mo Guanshan felt irritated. The trace of the usual arm draped over his body, gone, yet he could still feel remnants of _that pesky heat on the other side of the bed_ trying to pull him into a defiant hug, or a not-so-gentle kiss to the nape, or whispered sweet nothings in his ear that would otherwise make his face turn as red as his hair (and denying any such thing happening.) Guanshan knew he was only doing it to piss him off. And after a year of sleeping beside that asshole, he decided to leave it be since He Tian didn't seem to take his requests (more like threats) seriously. 

And after said year of living together, Guanshan found himself at a shocking and equally frustrating revelation. When He Tian said that he had been expected in his hometown for a family emergency, Guanshan was more than alighted to finally have the flat to himself. It was much easier to get up and go to the bathroom when you didn't have some 170 pound jerk sleeping on top of you after all. And he was sure that some separation could do them good, finally.

He remembered the conversation he had with He Tian that morning on facetime; He didn’t look that happy being away from home, his relatives apparently dragging him all over the place that he barely had any time to relax. He Tian joked, “You should have come with _us_ , early honeymoon,” us, regarding Jian Yi and Zhang Xi who had at the last minute decided to join him to take in the wonderful sights, but really just to keep He Tian’s sanity in check. 

Guanshan had simply rolled his eyes in response, like he could even afford it. He was working full-time as a waiter half an hour away from the flat, and every other weekend he would serve drinks at his friend’s family bar, simultaneously taking part-time culinary classes at a small college. He barely had any time to think for himself so just to drop everything for a week? He’d never catch up. Many of these opportunities were called in favors, afterall.

Besides, it was slightly colder in He Tian’s hometown and as much as He Tian tried to joke that he could ‘warm him up’ he could only imagine how long the train ride would be, with all those uncomfortable stares (and yes there would be, knowing how well He Tian and associates attract attention). And with Jian Yi and Zhang Xixi there would undoubtedly be reprehensible awkward flirting coming from the side, for the entire six hour ride there and back. And more. So no thank you.

Thirdly, he didn’t think he was ready to meet the family just yet. Whoever had raised He Tian was probably not a force to be reckoned with. Perhaps that was why He Tian didn’t pressure him that much into coming. That day he left with a packed bag, kissed Guanshan heavily in the crowded train station and told him it’d be just a week and a half and not to cheat on him. Mo Guanshan smacked him over the head, trying to dodge Jian Yi’s chokehold hug and failing.

And then the twinge of regret when Mo Guanshan had came home to the empty house, but didn’t have time to think about it as he dressed for his work and carried on with life. When he woke up to no usual chaos or defiant kiss, the urge to call him, to hear his voice _just a little._ When he glossed over the particular name on his phone with his fingertip, with a slight desire to call, to see how he was doing until He Tian beat him to it. When he saw how He Tian looked on the other end, immediately he demanded to know what happened; He Tian was “bored, tired, exhausted”, and “wanted to see you so badly”.

And Guanshan wanted to say it back, but instead he had once again swallowed his feelings when Jian Yi came into view, stole He Tian’s phone, and ran. He had gotten a good view of some of the sceneries there as well as a perfect view of He Tian beating up Jian Yi. And it felt exactly like it did when they were together.

Guanshan kept his thoughts bottled until the phone cut. The phone and video calls were not constant, infact on day two He Tian had only called once and their call lasted all but two minutes before He Tian was dragged by another voice. 

It was inevitable. It has been a long time since He Tian visited his family, despite acting like he really wasn’t interested. And it could just be that Guanshan was having an off week, he had plenty of those. 

Letting out a long sigh, Mo Guanshan kicked the blanket off himself and slid his body off the large bed. He purposely avoided the night table with an exaggerated tilt, dragging his feet out of the room and towards the kitchen. Almost everything about the flat had changed, both heavily furnished and renovated. There were separate couches, a dinner table; the large living room was separated to include two extra beds. It was a slow improvement once Guanshan and He Tian started seeing each other more, with extra thanks to his mother of course who had also gotten He Tian interested in home decorating

He sauntered towards the fridge, opening it. Grimacing at the sudden light, he quickly grabbed various jars and ingredients to make a sandwich and settled it over the counter. He grabbed two loaves of bed and spread mayonnaise on them, cutting lettuce and tomato and throwing it on there too. He realized that he should probably go grocery shopping tomorrow when he had the time. The carpets had to be vacuumed too, and the windows washed. He contemplated briefly about perhaps calling a few of his distant friends over for a game of poker or what not, reminded that he would probably have to invite some of their wives as well. He liked them, sort of, but at times it was annoying the way they looked at He Tian, and would giggle and gossip heavily to the side like they couldn’t hear it. Well, it’s not like they weren’t equally as rowdy.  
Maybe he should pay a visit to his mother instead and stay there for the rest of the week. The only issue being his workplace would be even farther forcing him to wake up even earlier. And he didn't want to seem like some coward who couldn't stay at home by himself.

Guanshan shook his head of his thoughts and grabbed the knife off the counter. He added some ketchup and mustard with a few blocks of cheese. He closed the two loaves together and took a good bite; a masterpiece perfect for a midnight snack (no matter how many times He Tian and his mother disagreed). He sighed loudly temporarily relaxed and stressless.

A little while later, mid sandwich, there was a huge ruckus at the front door. He paused as he heard it open, his mouth opening wide, _What the ever living fuck?_ He cursed to himself, his face dropping into a blank expression. He dropped his meal over the table, grabbing the knife that he previously spread the condiments with instinctively. The only person who had a key to the flat was He Tian and Mo Guanshan, along with his mother but that was impossible since she would most definitely call first. He was reminded of that small crew at his friends bar whom he had to brazenly shoo away, or that sorry sack of shit he bumped into outside the apartment, who wasn’t exactly impressed with Mo Guanshan’s appearance despite having cleaned himself up for the past few years. Then there was the fist-fight he got into a few weeks before with the guys in his cooking class…. Fuck, it could be anyone. Not to mention the number of people after He Tian’s life. His blood ran cold at the thought of them intruding on their private space. He slowly crept to the doorway, waiting, listening, at the small footsteps growing closer. 

The figure walked around the corner and Guanshan lunged. The quick witted stranger barely dodged a scrape from the butter knife, pulling his hand sideways to grab Guanshan’s prepared arm; moving back against the stealthy body and connecting his elbow into the man’s gut as the knife fell out of his hands. The familiar voice grunted in pain, before tossing Guanshan into the counter and pinning him down hastively.

“Fucking hell, Guanshan!” The voice yelled in panic, Guanshan blinked as he stopped his persistent struggling, looking over his shoulder at the close face and familiar dark eyes staring at him with narrowed eyes, “What the heck do you think you’re doing?! Taking someone off guard like that? You’re not on my registry yet. If you want my money, you’re doing this at the _wrong time!_.”

Even in the worst moments, that man always found the time to crack jokes.

Guanshan was frozen, gaping at the man who slowly but surely let go of him so he could turn around properly. When did he? How did he…? Why was he here? Was he seeing things? Was he still asleep, maybe?

“What did you do?” Mo Guanshan asked in a cold and confused voice. 

He Tian shrugged, taking a good look at his boyfriend clad in simple checkered boxer shorts and _his_ white undershirt. Oh, “Meh… change of plans,” the man explained, still holding his stomach as the pain slowly resided, “Why, Were you enjoying your time away from me? Hoping for some more little Mo time,” Mo Guanshan was silent as He Tian chuckled wearily, “I’m telling you, don’t get used to it. I don’t plan on leaving you after this.” 

He stared at him slowly, indifferently. He couldn’t believe he was actually here. He thought he would have to wait forever. He Tian sent him a curious look, “Guan...?” 

“You idiot,” Mo Guanshan huffed to himself incredulously, “I could have killed you!” _No shit_ He Tian cocked an eyebrow at him, waiting for the worst. 

Mo Guanshan moved forward, grabbing his hands. He dropped his head into He Tian’s chest and took a long sniff. He smelled like cigarettes, and a lot of them. 

“Oi…” He Tian asked, moving one hand around him and laughing manically. He kissed the top of his head, “Did you miss me that much?” 

“Fuck you, don’t ruin this,” Mo Guanshan grumbled under his breath, closing his eyes. He Tian moved the other hand around him, and tightened their bodies together, his head collapsing over the side of his neck. He took a long sniff of Guanshan’s hair, freshly showered with a hint of aloe (his own shampoo he realized), dropping small kisses to the nape of his neck. And he smiled in contentment. 

He had been miserable all up until he got to the door. And yet just a single look of Guanshan’s face and it had brought about the best feelings.

\--

He Tian hated everything.

Starting from when he got into the train, from when they got there; each moment wondering if he’d ever have a chance to escape. If only He Cheng hadn’t called him a night before, threatening that he would come get him himself “under mothers orders,” he would have gladly taken a trip out of town, maybe abroad, to avoid all contact with his family. His only sense of entertainment being the two idiots making googly eyes at the corner, and even that pissed him the hell off.

Problems had already started once they got there. It seemed they had been the last people to attend, among dozens of his family members packed in one house. He had hoped to call in a hotel when they got there, but that, of course, became impossible once he had been gotten ahold of by the maids.

Dragged to and fro, from family member to family member, all asking whether he remembered them. And of course the fuck he didn’t, the last time he probably saw them was when he was a kid. He had gotten peeks at his brother, and tried his best to avoid him, simulatenously making sure both Zheng Xi and Jian Yi didn’t get in trouble. He was already regretting bringing those two along, though they seemed not to notice with their consistent flirting. 

His only breathing room was at the end of the day, laid across the single bed which he owned and staring at his phone. Mo Guanshan was possibly asleep, he’d remind himself for the fifth time that day and instead reminding himself not to call.  
He’d instead stare at his phone screen, where a picture of Mo Guanshan was sleeping in his pajamas, and He Tian shirtless was sitting right beside him taking a selfie. Mo Guanshan had made a fit when he saw it, but surprisingly as many times as he borrowed his phone he never changed it. He Tian moved and kissed the front of his phone, just like he did plenty, and sighed.

One more week. That was how long their funerals were. Though it was a distant relative of his, it was necessary that all factions were expected at the death ceremony where the will was split between families, only given how much the deceased hated his father they were sure to get nothing. He Tian didn’t remember much about the man, but he was sure he hated him to. 

He Tian missed Mo Guanshan terribly. He had been calling consistently since the first day they got there, but his calls had turned sparse. The fact of the matter was every single day he had missed the beautiful male terribly and the more he spoke to him the more he wanted to see him so badly it hurt, even though it probably wasn’t recriprocated. Given how much Mo Guanshan worked, they were barely able to see each other much to begin with.

He glanced at the picture on his phone again, pressing his newly lit cigarette to his mouth. He had several at lunch and could just imagine Guanshan scolding him after making a serious effort to quit. 

Oh well. 

Suddenly the ding of his phone caused him to snap upright in surprise.

DCM<3: U up ?

He Tian took a moment to reply, holding the cigarette within his lips to free both hands. 

DICKFACE: just about to go to bed… and you? DICKFACE: Miss u!!!! xx<3

It took another moment for the reply to come, He Tian waited anxiously. 

DCM<3: me 2  
DCM<3: goodNight Tian 

He Tian stared at his phone for almost a minute, before sighing. His hands sprawled over the bed defeatedly with his phone still gripped, taking another inhale of his cigarette as his entire room engulfed in smoke. He eventually stood up, and without even touching his suitcase walked out.  
** 

He Tian held Mo Guanshan over his bed, vowing himself not to let go. The male in question had an early shift in the morning and really didn’t have the energy to fight him off, nor did he really want to. 

Guanshan felt the faint lips over his forehead for the tenth time, and the mantra of how much he missed, cared and loved him in his ear over and over that made his face rosy. He was certain He Tian knew he was awake but if he did he said nothing about it. 

The vibration of a phone was heard again, and with a yawn, He Tian outstretched his hand and took it from the side, rolling onto his back and taking Guanshan with. He peeked about fourty missed calls from about twenty different numbers, all of which he ignored or ended with a click of a button.

This time He Tian picked up at the familiar number, “Sup?” 

“You damn asshole!!!” The angry voice yelled within the phone, waking Guanshan up completely, “If you were gonna ditch you shouldn’t have brought us in the first place!! Where the fuck are you? ???Your brother said he won’t let us leave till you show face!” 

Mo Guanshan opened his eyes as he heard the faint arguing and glanced at He Tian who looked bored looking at his nails. 

“What’s up his ass?” Guanshan asked.

“... What the hell? Is that Redhead?! Dude!!!!!”

“Gotta go,” He Tian quickly ended the call and turned off his phone completely, throwing it back to the side. He smiled down at his lover and nuzzled his face with his hand, “Hey, what do you think of taking a trip abroad, Don’t Close Mountain?”

Mo Guanshan gave him a look. 

“I know, I know,” He Tian sighed, he already knew the answer before he asked, taking his arm away and moving to sit up. He grabbed his shirt from the side to slip it on, “I’m going to have to go back, or my brother will hold those idiot lovers hostage forever.” He thought as he moved to kiss the heap beside him. He didn’t regret this for a second. 

“I have to give two weeks notice,” Guanshan muttered as he turned his back to him. He Tian’s paused as he looked at him, before completely dropping all of his weight on top of the man, “OW! What the hell!?“

“They can wait another week,” He Tian grinned as he pulled the covers over them.


End file.
